Welcome to 2011, and the Padster's Match by Match preview of the tournament. Hopefully I will be able to tip the 15 winners of the 15 matches that we'll no doubt enjoy over Masters week, one of the most eagerly anticipated weeks in the calendar.

Anyhow, off we go.

FIRST ROUND

MARK SELBY (1) v MARK KINGSelby opens the defence of his title with a match against the World No. 16 who in recent years, the Masters hasn't been a happy hunting ground where last year's preliminary round win over Jimmy White was his first win at the Masters since 1999 where he reached the quarter-finals in his best ever run. Compare that to Selby who making his 4th appearance at the Masters again finds himself top seed and a potential winner for the third time in 4 years. Selby hasnt had an overly spectacular season, first match exit in the World Open, Semi in the Shanghai and Last 16 in the UK isnt really setting the world alight that we expect from him. King has also been short of form more recently, and the defeat in the UK 9-8 to Day will affect him a bit. - Mark Selby has the edge here because of the winning mentality set up after a 5-1 win in the Shanghai Masters QF - King's best run.

Ahead of this Match with Selby top seed and defending champion should be the likely winner but we are in the Masters after all. 6-2 to Selby

SHAUN MURPHY (8) v JAMIE COPEShaun is on a recent spell of good form, final of the Premier League though slaughtered by Ronnie in the final. - And close to reaching the final of the UK suggests that this season is beginning to look up for Shaun despite a slide in the rankings to 8th seeding for this tournament. - For Jamie a season which started to well is just beginning to dip a little, with a first round loss in the UK being a disappointment, especially as he can be extemely dangerous if he gets going in a tournament, any of his ranking runs tell you that for certain.

There's no doubting if Jamie can play his best game then we may be saying bye bye to Shaun at this stage but I reckon Murphy will have enough in this encounter to win by 6-4

MARK WILLIAMS (5) v DING JUNHUI

Mark's [problem for me here is how does he react from losing the UK final from 7-2 in front and 9-5 in front. No doubt John Higgins played some great snooker to win that encounter but a player like Williams should be able to close out a match when they have a lead such as Mark did. - The positives to be drawn from that can be that the good form that he showed at the World Open has continued and that he's the number 5 seed and world number 3 for the Masters can show that his form has improved greatly from previous years where he slipped out of the limelight somewhat.

Ding will be on a mission to do well after an early exit from the UK Champs - but by his own admission he's not a fan of the Wembley crowd so you have to wonder how he will play. He got a fair old bruising 6-1 last year against Selby and that will have hurt but he's moving the right way in the rankings, and this is the tightest match to call based on the rankings - but I think that Mark should have enough given recent showings. 6-3 to Williams

JOHN HIGGINS (4) v GREAME DOTT

Can we have a repeat of a month ago? - This for me is the match of the first round, - both players played brilliantly at the UK and its hardly surprising given his recent return to form, moving back up in the rankings after a run to the World final, and solid showings in the other tournaments. - The interesting thing for me is that whether Graeme can use the form he showed against John in Telford and use it to his advantage?

My head says nope and I say 6-4 to the UK Champion

ALI CARTER (3) v PETER EBDON

Ali's vulnerable at the moment, he's found the high seedings quite difficult by his own admission back in the UK after a great start to the season when he was able to beat Jamie Burnett in the final. Last 32 exits in both BBC tournaments so far isnt the ideal season that he would have hoped for - with the Number 3 seed beginning to drop down the rankings and is currently 7th.

Peter on the other hand, isnt in that bad nick, he lost the first round match 9-7 to Higginson in the UK, but a last 16 exit as a qualifier in Shanghai and a Semi-Final of the World Open, immediately got him straight back into the top 16 after dropping out of it recently.

In a contest where two players are struggling it wouldnt surprise me to see Ebdon shock Carter by 6-4

STEPHEN MAGUIRE (6) v MARCO FU

Stephen's slipping a little in the rankings, whether thats due to a lack of confidence after losing in the World's so comprehensively, but he's had a solid season with two major quarter-finals to date. Fu's form hasnt been the best either, with first round exits in Shanghai and the World Open, and a second round hammering ended his UK championships. - A gold at the Asian Games may be the highlight of the season

In a game between to players who's form isn't brilliant, I'd say 6-4 to Maguire

RONNIE O'SULLIVAN (7) v MARK ALLEN

The interesting thing for me here is how will Ronnie respond. A poor performance on the whole in the first round of the UK championship bowing out to Stuart Bingham who made it look rather easy to send him out up against someone who always seems to do well against him, and has the formbook on his side with a run to the last four in Telford. Mark Allen will be asking himself, why shouldnt he be able to go on and win this game.

Ronnie will have the crowd on his side, but he's going to have to use them if he wins this game, when short of form.

My tip is a shock here with Allen sneaking a 6-5 win.

NEIL ROBERTSON (2) v STEPHEN HENDRY

As much as it pains me to say it, I feel that this is in all honesty a pretty likely win for Robertson. World Champion and having enjoyed a fantastic 2010 compared to Stephen who's in a terrible state in terms of game, and mind with the admission of the yips issue he has had recently, it shows you that he is going through the mill somewhat in terms of confidence. - That doesnt bode well when you have the world champion up in the first round of the Masters.

There's no doubting that there will be a battling and wholehearted display from the 6 times Masters champion, it would seem that with his own belief shorn of confidence that if he got into a lead, whether he'd crumble himself ahead of the finishing line.

That's a bold prediction. Having Mark Allen beat Ronnie. I do feel however, it will be a tough one for The Rocket. Allen is up and coming, and has beaten Ronnie before. Wembley is Ronnie's house though, so I think it'll be very tough for Allen.

I think Allen's performance may be governed by how he takes to the jeers from the fans. Wembley will be on his case on every shot. Will he be able to deal with that pressure?

And of course, we don't know how Ronnie will perform. Will he turn up as he did at Telford? Or will he be psyched to perform at Wembley, a venue and tournament he loves.

Personally, I'd love to see Allen get a surprise win, and a run in the UK. Though, I have a feeling that Ronnie will edge a close battle. It's surely an interesting one.

they have "previous" so lets see what transpires.......................should be an eye-catching type of match, but for the love of God why is this scheduled for an afternoon. Beggars belief. Sky+ for me, as the flu came a week early.

HugoDrax wrote:they have "previous" so lets see what transpires.......................should be an eye-catching type of match, but for the love of God why is this scheduled for an afternoon. Beggars belief. Sky+ for me, as the flu came a week early.